Just how much are social media followers worth to a congressional campaign?
That question — along with how a candidate can go about amassing a following — are at the crux of a recent campaign finance complaint involving two Democratic rivals in the race for California’s 40th Congressional District.
An Instagram account dedicated to March For Our Lives California, the state’s outfit for the student-run organization that advocates for gun violence prevention, quietly switched over to be dedicated to Perry Meade’s congressional campaign, along with its nearly 60,000 followers, according to a complaint to the Federal Elections Commission made by Esther Kim Varet’s campaign, a fellow Democrat in the CA-40 race.
Perry Meade is a candidate for California’s 40th Congressional District. (Photo courtesy of Perry Meade’s campaign)
The race for California’s 40th District — represented now by Republican Rep. Young Kim, who is running for re-election — is already a closely watched one in the 2026 elections. It’s drawn several Democratic contenders as it’s eyed by both parties at the national level as a possible seat that could flip blue in the midterms.
The use of social media, meanwhile, isn’t new for campaigns — but it’s still a bit of a “Wild West” in terms of how it’s regulated by the FEC, said Michael Kowal, an expert in campaign finance and social media who teaches at the Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey.
Followers are certainly of value, Kowal said, especially if they are like-minded people who may be voters in the district. But they can also help a candidate get promoted by a platform’s algorithm, amplifying their content — and therefore, their campaign — to even more people.
A review of the @perryforcongress Instagram account on Wednesday, Aug. 13, shows it has 13 public posts, only going as far back as July 21, when Meade announced his candidacy for the district that spans Orange County and part of the Inland Empire. Those posts include photos of news coverage of his campaign and videos relaying his platform.
Meta, which owns Instagram, notes the account has been active since April 2018 and has changed its username four times — although it does not publicly provide what those other usernames are.
But the account, which now has the @perryforcongress handle, has been tagged in multiple posts related to gun violence over the years, including one in 2022 about the mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and one in 2019 from the account for California’s governor, highlighting gun violence prevention bills signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Tagged posts are not visible on the account page, which is something the user can control by choosing the visibility of posts the account was previously tagged in.
Meta’s data shows the Meade campaign Instagram account shares 81% of its followers with the national March For Our Lives account. Meade has worked for March For Our Lives, serving as the West Coast organizing director, according to his campaign website.
The Instagram for Perry Meade’s congressional campaign has been tagged in multiple posts related to gun violence prevention over the years, including on in 2019 from the account for California’s governor. (Screengrab)
Another March For Our Lives Instagram account dedicated to California does not appear to exist, although city-specific ones do.
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There are currently no comments publicly visible on the account that express any sentiment toward the account’s transition to a congressional candidacy page. According to social media statistics tracking site Social Blade, the account has lost more than 550 followers in the last 30 days.
“The Instagram account was started seven years ago and was managed by Perry and other volunteer youth organizers as a platform for grassroots activism and organizing,” said Lukas Walczak, campaign manager for Meade’s campaign. “It has been inactive for the past four years. We chose to revive it in that same spirit — as a tool for grassroots organizing — which is the foundation of our campaign and the work Perry has been committed to for the past decade.”
“This baseless complaint is a ridiculous publicity stunt from our opponent to distract from the fact that she has no meaningful ties to our community and has no track record of improving the lives of Orange County families,” Walczak continued. “We had hoped that all of the candidates in this race would stay focused on our shared goal of defeating Young Kim and delivering results for our community, such as building a more affordable future for all. It’s disappointing, if not surprising, that our opponent is resorting to bad-faith attacks instead of uniting behind the mission of flipping this seat.”
Kim Varet’s campaign is alleging that the transfer of assets — in this case, Instagram followers — was “illegal” and “an excessive and impermissible in-kind contribution,” in the complaint shared with the Southern California News Group. If the original account was financed by March For Our Lives, it would make the Instagram page “a corporate resource that cannot be donated to a federal candidate or converted into a candidate asset.”
A spokesperson for the FEC said the federal agency could not comment on specific candidates. The FEC, which enforces federal campaign finance laws, does not have guidance on this specific scenario, either.
Kim Varet’s campaign is also asking the California attorney general to probe March For Our Lives over the Instagram account to “determine whether charitable assets were improperly used or converted for private or political purposes.”
Leaders for March For Our Lives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“I am appalled by Meade’s blatant theft of March For Our Lives property,” Ajay Mohan, Kim Varet’s campaign manager, said in a statement.
“As a proud donor to both March For Our Lives and March For Our Lives Action Fund — and as someone who has worked for Democrats for over a decade — I know that the mission to prevent gun violence is sacred,” Mohan said. “That mission should not be usurped by Meade’s flagrant ambition.”
Kim Varet’s campaign estimates the Instagram account to be worth some $79,000, based on a review from a digital fundraising firm that estimated the amount based on how much it is paid for posts for a similar following.
Esther Kim Varet, an art dealer and founder of Various Small Fires, a homegrown gallery with locations in Los Angeles, Dallas, Seoul and soon Tustin, is running for California’s 40th Congressional District. (Courtesy of the candidate)
Like many issues involving campaign finance, this one is complicated, said Justin Levitt, an expert in campaign finance and election law who teaches at Loyola Law School.
“If it’s the official campaign that’s running the account, there needs to be something heading the other way in exchange for that list,” said Levitt, noting there are various ways that could occur, including reporting an in-kind contribution or paying outright for the account.
But what’s not complicated is the value that lists — or followers — have to a campaign.
“Membership lists have value the same way that any subscriber list is going to have value, whether you’re talking about an old-school magazine or coffee club or Instagram account,” said Levitt. “It’s worth something to be able to know who to contact who actually might be a base of support.”
“There are lots of ways campaigns buy and sell and trade lists all the time in order to get in touch with supporters and followers, and there are lots of ways to do that,” said Levitt. “The fact that it’s worth something doesn’t tell you if anyone has done anything wrong.”
Kowal, the Stevens Institute professor, agrees.
Candidates, he said, are absolutely using social media to raise money and build a base.
Take New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, for example. A millennial, Mamdani has heavily relied on social media posts, particularly videos, in his campaign. His Instagram account boasts 3.8 million followers.
“The ability of these candidates to get access to a follower list, even things like getting some of these early followers, can boost them in other people’s feeds,” said Kowal. “Engagement can lead to a spiraling snowball effect … and can gain momentum and propel them to be more competitive.”
While money isn’t everything — plenty of candidates outraise their opponents and still lose, Kowal said — social media is a way to get a leg up on fundraising and contact with voters.
“There is a dollar figure certainly attached to that,” he said.
Meade, 26, who announced his candidacy in July, does not have financial disclosure reports publicly available on the FEC’s website as of yet.
Meanwhile, Kim Varet, an art dealer with nearly 12,000 Instagram followers, reported raising more than $1 million thus far in the campaign, according to her latest campaign finance report.
While no campaign finance violations have been alleged, Kim Varet has been criticized by Republicans for her social media posts. Most recently, Kim Varet shared a video on her Instagram of someone telling former presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, “It is a complete pleasure to be able to hear somebody speak in complete sentences.”
“Having representatives AND LEGISLATORS that speak in complete sentences shouldn’t be a luxury,” the post was captioned, along with a hashtag that symbolizes flipping the 40th District.
The National Republican Congressional Committee, which works to elect Republicans to Congress, called the post “racist” and accused Kim Varet of making fun of Kim’s immigrant background and English-speaking skills. Kim Varet’s campaign declined to comment on the accusations.